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Although I personally do not use screensaver programs anymore, many people still enjoy them as a form of “eye candy”. This article by Lynn Sullivan describes a new type of virtual aquarium screensaver that has become popular over the past few months. Also included is a brief history of why screensavers were originally developed and were actually necessary before the advent of modern types of computer monitors.

Screensavers enable consumers to personalize their computers and cell phones. Although they are no longer strictly necessary, the popularity of screensavers has not diminished. Millions of users from the United States visit Screensavers.com each month to select from thousands of virus-free and spyware-free downloadable content items. Some screensavers have even advanced to the point that they deliver real time images on their displays.

Originally, screensavers were intended to prevent phosphor burn-in, or screen burn, on CRT computer monitors. When this happens, “ghosting” can be seen on the surface of the screen. Phosphor burn-in was widespread with monochromatic CRT screens such as the amber or green monochrome monitors commonly used with older computer systems. The most prevalent burn-in image on early televisions was caused by the RCA Indian Head test card. Anyone who remembers the earlier days of television might remember this icon – it was the one that was displayed before color bars were introduced. This picture would appear after the American national anthem was played as stations shut down for the day. People would forget to turn off their televisions at night and the phosphor dots would burn out over time, thus imprinting an outline of the image into the affected TV screens. Here is a picture of what the original image looked like:

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Those of us who are active with the Entrecard system often have occasions where we need to visit several websites within a short period of time so that we can complete our daily drops more efficiently. Many sites now have lists of links that allow us to click through directly to pages displaying an Entrecard widget. When encountering such lists, I would normally use the middle-click (mouse wheel) button to open each site in a new tab. However, approximately two months ago I discovered a Firefox extension that makes this process even faster.

It’s called Snap Links and can be downloaded from the Mozilla site here. This handy little application allows you to open whole groups of sites at one time by holding down the right mouse button and dragging the dotted green box that appears over the links to all of the desired sites. Here is a screenshot of the Snap Links extension in action:

After you have dragged the box over all of the links that you would otherwise want to click on, simply let go of the right mouse button and each of the sites will open in separate tabs.

Note that the actions described above are the default settings; it is possible, for example, to have Firefox open the selected links in multiple windows instead of tabs, open all links in tabs but in a different window, copy the links to the clipboard, bookmark them, or download them. You can also change the settings to control the color and thickness of the drawing or selection rectangles, designate which mouse button you use to initiate the selection, and tweak a few other advanced options. These settings can be accessed after you have downloaded the extension by going to Tools >> Add-ons >> Snap Links >> Options from your Firefox browser menu.

For power-dropping Entrecarders, this spares us the hassle of having to click on as many as 300 links per day and allows us to make more efficient use of our time. Snap links can also be used with the results pages of your favorite search engine. Simply drag the box over the desired number of results, let it go, and wait for the pages to load in their tabs. After clicking on each tab and viewing the pages, you can quickly close any of them that are not relevant to your research by using the middle click button. Along with savvy use of keywords and search parameters, this can allow you to find information quickly and effectively while saving you some wear and tear on your all-important clicking finger.

Related article: Useful Firefox Extensions

Although the Yahoo toolbar has some convenient features such as customization, email alerts, and bookmarking, many users are already able to access these options from their existing applications and discover that the toolbar becomes a redundant annoyance. Moreover, some users have expressed concerns that the configuration for Firefox presents vulnerabilities that can allow hackers to infect a user’s system with spyware or other types of malware that would need to be detected and removed by an anti-spyware program.

The process for uninstalling the Yahoo toolbar from the Firefox browser is similar to the one for removing it from Internet Explorer if you are able to do it from the toolbar’s menu. Additionally, if this does not work you can also attempt an uninstall through the Firefox extension manager or by resetting your browser’s user profile.

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After looking at some of the queries that are going to my article on how to fix the computer CPU speed, I noticed that some of you are having difficulty trying to uninstall the Yahoo toolbar from your IE browsers. Initially, this little application can be useful for many things such as customization, email alerts, search, bookmarks, or enabling tabbed browsing. However, many of us already have these capabilities built into other programs, so eventually the toolbar becomes redundant and simply clutters up the browser interface. I wound up getting the toolbar installed unintentionally because it apparently comes bundled with the Yahoo messenger service as well as SBC Yahoo DSL.

Fortunately, removing the pesky Yahoo toolbar from IE7 or earlier versions is not terribly difficult. There are two basic methods for this: you can either use the toolbar interface itself or go through the Windows Add/Remove Programs settings.

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This article by Ron Doyle proposes an interesting theory that attempts to explain the reasons behind the development of Windows solitaire and why it is still included in modern versions of Microsoft’s operating system. Having never been a Microsoft insider, I am unsure of the veracity of the author’s claim; however, if any of you happen to have additional information on this topic, such content can be posted in the comment section below.

Occasionally you may have had one of your friends comment, “My computer has become one of the most expensive card shufflers in the world!” She was referring to her husband’s and probably even her own ability to while away the hours with solitaire. Why has solitaire been in every version of Microsoft Windows since the amoeba came about?

The answer is really quite remarkable. It turns out that the beginning of the familiar solitaire game most of us have played with is not only a game, but an involved training tool. It all started in 1990 with Windows 3.0.

It is basically a computerized version of the card game that you may have learned to play as a kid. It has all of the standard rules of the card game with several options for different ways to play and score, including even the ability to change the backs of the deck of cards.

Also you should watch the “draw deck” as you play the game. Some versions of the game have a sneaky little “extra” that the programmers at Microsoft made for you. The backs of the cards are animated — just enough to make you think you may be losing your mind. For instance, if you watch the palm tree deck you will occasionally see the sun stick his tongue out at you…maybe.

OK, on to the training part and why solitaire has been in each version of Windows for all of its many variations. When Windows first came onto the market, few people had any experience with a mouse. Guess what? To play solitaire properly you have to learn and use most functions of a mouse. You have to point to the cards you wish to use. You have to click to turn over new cards. Clicking and dragging is needed to move cards to a new location. And in case you didn’t realize it, you can double click on any card that you want to go onto an Ace pile.

This was the main reason that solitaire was created for use in Windows. This is also the reason you will most likely continue to see it in Windows for the foreseeable future.

Some people who are new to computers are advised by their technologically experienced managers to actually play solitaire at work…occasionally for very short periods of time. This will improve their ability to use the mouse more efficiently in the workplace.

How would you like to learn a way to draw the cards one at a time while playing the three card draw version? Hold down the CTRL, ALT and SHIFT keys and click on the deck to draw a single card, just like you played as a kid.

In the Internet marketing world, PDF files are commonly used for packaging and transmitting digital information products such as ebooks. This article by Dario Borghino provides a brief summary of the advantages and disadvantages of this particular file format.

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a widespread file format developed by Adobe Systems in 1993 whose main feature is the independence over a particular hardware, software, or operating system. Its format specifications are released by Adobe under the Public Domain, effectively making it a convenient choice for cross-platform document exchange.

This format can include formatted text, images, bitmap images and even two-dimensional vector graphics, while further possibilities exist to embed 3D graphics and documents. A PDF file usually has a very distinctive, elegant look, and is therefore often the preferred file format for official documents, press releases, and research papers that had previously been written and compiled using the (La)Tex formatting language.

The file structure of a PDF file is object-based. There are several kinds of objects, which include:

1. Boolean variables, which can be assigned either the value ‘true’ or ‘false’;
2. Arrays, a set of different objects which are often ordered;
3. Maps, which are similar to databases in which a list of key values (titles) maps other objects (contents);
4. Data Streams, containing bulks of data;
5. Names, numbers, etc.

The PDF format lays its foundations on the PostScript page description language in order to generate document layouts and manage complex graphics issues. However, the main advantages of PDF over PostScript are the possibility of including transparency effects and, in a more technical context, the fact that unlike PostScript, PDF does not adopt a so-called ‘imperative programming style’ making use of global variables that are deprecated because of efficiency issues. In order to determine the appearance of a given page, it is necessary to process all the previous ones. To some extent, we may say that PostScript is slowly becoming a subset of the Portable Document Format family.

The impossibility of editing a PDF file is often seen as the main drawback of this format. Software exists to apply minor modifications such as removing an entire page or inserting a new one. However, in order to obtain a greater level of flexibility you would have to own the original document from which the PDF was created, as modifications such as changing the font size, layout or editing the text body are normally not permitted directly on the PDF file. However, other publishers see this as an extremely useful feature when they have to make sure their documents won’t get manipulated and redistributed by competitors or third parties.

Many computer programs, and most notably the OpenOffice open source, cross-platform software suite developed by Sun Microsystems, embed a PDF converter which will transform many of the most common rich-formatted file extensions (be it DOC, RTF or ODT) into a PDF unmodifiable file, but not vice versa. Tools exist on Linux and Apple platforms to convert PDF into plain .txt text files (pdf2txt) in a straightforward way, but tools attempting more complex conversions (such as PDF to DOC) will often yield unsatisfactory results in the page layout and will usually require further manual intervention.

Earlier today I received an email from my mother alerting me to an article posted by Dennis O’Reilly at CNET News.com. The article describes a handy little freeware program called Auslogics Disk Defrag that is supposed to be able to defragment your hard drive faster than the standard Windows utility can. After downloading the software and trying it out myself, I can confirm that it does work very efficiently and managed to finish the defrag process on my main drive in about four minutes.

Although the exact value of disk defragmentation is debatable, most experienced computer users recommend it as a routine maintenance operation to keep your computer running smoothly and prevent severe slowdowns. The process organizes your files more neatly on the disk and maximizes use of your free space to store additional files. It also reduces the wear and tear on the mechanical parts of the drive because they do not have to spend as much time accessing program files if they are in one location on the disk as opposed to being scattered all over the place.

Before you actually begin the defrag process, it is a good idea to go to Control Panel >> Add/Remove Programs (or Programs and Features if using Vista) and remove any applications that you are no longer using. You can also do a disk cleanup to remove any temporary Internet files and empty the Recycle Bin. This will free up more space on your drive and prevent fragmentation later after these files are eventually removed. For example, I had a few old PC games left on my drive that I was not playing anymore, so I was able to free up a few gigabytes of space before I even started defragmenting.

When this is done, you can install the Auslogics utility and open up the initial screen. It has a nice little pie chart that shows you the actual size of your disk, how much of it is occupied by various files, and how much free space you have left:


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This article by Carole-Anne Franco provides a good overview of a relatively obscure game developed by Alpha 72 called Chromadrome 2. Although released in August 2007, it is somewhat of a throwback to the older arcade style games but with more modern graphics. Like those familiar games of yore, it is both simple and surprisingly addictive.

Have you ever gone through a GameStop, EB games, Best Buy, or another other store that sells video games? Did you ever gasp at the rising price tags and wish you could find nice good games for a lot less? Well actually on the Internet you can (and I am not talking about illegal downloads and Roms). Many independent developers out there offer great quality games for you to download at a reasonable price. Here’s one you just might like: Chromadrome 2.

Alpha 72’s Chromadrome 2 is the sequel of Chromadrome -a game that was awarded the Avault’s top shareware of 2004. So, what is Chromadrome 2? Released in September of 2007, it hopes to follow and do homage to its predecessor.

Description:

You play this yellow marble with eyes called a “Chromate”. Its goal in life is to go down tracks without falling in holes. Guided by your handy dandy mouse (or touchpad for laptop users), you guide this lovable fellow through these tracks. You make sure he doesn’t fall in holes; you make sure he goes on the jump ramps when needed; you decide if he should go on a speed ramp in order to go faster or if you should hit obstacles in order to slow down; you decide if you go for extra points by attempting to jump through hoops that may or may not aid you in your task not to fall down. There are 6 game modes: Arcade, Academy, Warp, Time Trial, Chromacing, and Two Player. You unlock these modes as you play through the game. As you play, you can even earn bonus features.

Systems:

Every Windows system since Windows 98 will be able to use this (sorry Mac users). DirectX 8 and at least 128MB of ram is also required (so most computers should have no problem).

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If you are having problems with your computer running too slowly, you may be tempted to figure out how to change the CPU speed. In most cases, however, it is not the CPU hardware itself that is slowing you down, but rather a combination of factors having to do with various software and registry files that have accumulated in your hard drive. With a few simple maintenance operations, it is possible to speed up your computer and reduce the frequency of errors and crashes without having to resort to expensive hardware purchases or costly repair bills. Here are a few tips to optimize your computer’s performance:

1. Scan for viruses, spyware, adware, and other nasties. A surprising number of people with slow computers wind up forking over their hard-earned dollars to “expert” technicians only to find out later that their problems were caused by viruses or adware that they could have removed themselves with a simple scan. There are a number of free virus scanning and removal programs available; I’m currently using AVG and following it up with occasional scans by Microsoft Defender. In conjunction with using the Firefox browser for surfing, this has worked well for me so far. I have had very few virus or slowdown problems despite my frequent use of the Internet.

2. Go through your hard drive and get rid of programs that you no longer use or need. Although you should be careful not to delete files that are required for your computer to run properly (such as those that make up your main operating system), most people accumulate a lot of junk on their hard drives that simply takes up space and can lead to hard drive fragmentation if regular maintenance is not performed. In order to check what programs you have currently installed, you can go to Start >> Control Panel >> Add/Remove Programs. From here you can uninstall programs that you no longer need. This will not only free up space on your hard drive, but is a recommended step to take before moving on to the next tip.

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CPU-Z is a handy little detection and testing program that will display detailed information about the hardware specifications of your PC. The application is approximately half of a megabyte in size and is very easy to use. All you need to do is download it, unzip it, and click on the file named “cpuz.exe”. After a few seconds of loading time, you should see it open in a new window that looks something like this:

The display consists of six tabs that will provide the following information:

1. name, vendor, package, technology, and core voltage of your processor
2. processor specs including core speed, multiplier, bus speed, and level 1-3 cache data
3. manufacturer, model and chipset of your motherboard
4. BIOS brand, version, and date
5. graphic interface version and link width
6. memory (RAM) information: type, size, number of channels, frequency, latency, cycle time, and other specifications
7. on the About tab: author, version number, operating system specs, validation tools, and link to CPUID developers website

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IrfanView is an impressive freeware graphics viewer with significant image editing and processing capabilities. It is a very handy utility program that can open nearly all available image files and formats. Originally developed by Bosnian programmer Irfan Skiljan and sporting a public release history dating back to 1996, it is still being actively maintained and receiving very favorable reviews. The latest version is 4.00 and includes improved compatibility with Windows Vista, along with new options for image displays and batch processing.
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If you have ever had the experience of accidentally deleting a file that you had intended to save, there may still be some hope of recovering your data.
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In an event of fortuitous timing, Eduard Fernandez has released the AutoHeader SEO Wordpress plugin, a new plugin application for Wordpress blogs that automatically generates clean title tags, meta tags, and performs several other small but important tasks for webmasters who want to achieve better SEO results.
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Andre Chaperon has produced an excellent video tutorial on how to create an XML compliant Google sitemap for your site.

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After using it for almost two years, I have found that Firefox, an open source browser published by Mozilla, is generally more secure and easier to use than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) browser. Aside from the enhanced security and user friendly interface, however, what really gives Firefox the edge over most other browsers is its amazing versatility, including the ability to customize Firefox through the use of a wide variety of extensions, or “add-ons” as they are also called. Some of these extensions are particularly useful for bloggers and Internet entrepreneurs, so I will briefly describe a few particular extensions that I have found the most useful below. If you do not already have it, you can download Firefox from the Mozilla site by simply clicking on the relevant text in this sentence.

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